Lily and James The Summer that Changed it All
by eeeeeek
Summary: Ever wondered why Lily hated James until the seventh year? Ever wondered what Lily's and Petunia's childhood was like? Ever wondered what happened to Lily's and James's parents? Find out in this story about Lily and James at 14 years of age.
1. Introduction

Lily and James- The Summer that Changed it All

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Lily woke up abruptly on a Saturday morning, for no known reason. She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyelids. It was much too early to be up, the alarm clock on her bedside table told her, as its luminous light read, "7:15". No kid in their right mind was up at this hour.

But even though her brain was telling her to go back to sleep, she was still wide-awake. Lily gazed in the mirror at her reflection, tousled hair and freckles standing out. She grabbed the lavender bathrobe that hung on her chair and pulled it on. Might as well get ready for the day.

The hallway was full of light from the big bay window opposite the stairway, and Lily could see it was going to be another beautiful summer's day, by the way the sun was already shining brightly and there was not a cloud in the sky.

Lily shuffled into the bathroom, took a shower and changed into some clean undies, a blue and white striped top and white denim shorts. She grabbed her hairbrush and brushed her long auburn-coloured hair, one hundred strokes to keep it strong and healthy, and pulled it into a ponytail with a blue scrunchie.

She was about to come out when Petunia barged in.

"Come ON Lily. You've been in there, like, the whole morning." Petunia pushed Lily to the side and started rinsing her face under the tap.

"What are you doing up so early?" Lily asked, dumbfounded. The Evans family was lucky to see Petunia at the breakfast table before eleven o'clock, let alone seven thirty.

Petunia dried her face on the hand towel instead of on her pink towel, and grabbed Lily's hairbrush to start brushing her hair. "C'mon Lily. I need to be at camp by ten o'clock."

Oh, camp. Summer camp. Petunia had been talking about this all year. It was Twinkle Toes camp, a camp for destined ballerinas. Petunia had always wanted to be a ballerina, and had spent several weeks prior to the summer holidays telling everyone that they chose her because the leaders of the camp were convinced that she had talent. Lily decided not to tell anyone that even though Petunia had danced for five years, she was still enrolled in the "Beginners" camp because of her, ah, "original" dancing style.

Petunia finished pulling her hair into its usual side pigtail, and dragged Lily by the hand into her very... ballerina-decorated bedroom. "Oh Lily, you just have to help me decide what to wear."

Lily sat down on Petunia's ballerina-print bedspread, next to two duffel bags, which had been stuffed to the brim with clothes and leotards. Petunia held up a leopard-print dress and a fairy-floss pink skirt with a poodle patterned blouse to match. "Which do you think, eh?"

Lily blinked at Petunia's choices. Not exactly the most stylish.

"Er... do you still have those jeans, Petunia?"

Petunia reached into the back of her closet and took out a pair of white jeans which had been tie-dyed various colours, leaving the look that someone had spewed on your pants.

"Yes, wear them, and your red t-shirt."

Petunia pulled on the jeans and the red polka-dot t-shirt, and although it was still a disaster, she looked slightly better than what she usually looked, which was totally GROSS.

"Oh Lily, help me carry these bags downstairs. Puh-lease?"

As Lily grasped the handle of a flower-patterned bag, she realised how much she was going to miss Petunia. The two, although very different, were unusually close. Petunia was thirteen, with thin, curly blonde hair and grey eyes. Lily was only a year older, fourteen, with thicker auburn hair, and a natural curvy figure. Lily knew how much Petunia hated it when she went to Hogwarts and she had to stay home, going to the local school.

The two of them trooped down the stairs and into the kitchen, where their mother was taking out bowls and cereal for them. Katherine Evans had Lily's hair and Petunia's eyes, and if it hadn't been for the large bruise on her forehead she would have been very pretty.

Katherine smiled feebly at the girls. "Hello, my gorgeous ones. I'm sorry I didn't make you something special for your camp day, Petunia, but I have the worst headache."

"Mum!" Lily said. "How'd you get that bruise?"

"Oh, this?" She gestured to the sore as if it was a tiny mosquito bite instead of a purple, swollen mess. "Just banged my head on the cupboard last night. Nothing serious."

"Mum... could you put some foundation on it or something? It's not a good look for camp," unconcerned Petunia complained as she shovelled in her Crispy Crunchies.

Lily was suspicious. She had heard that argument late last night while in bed, and was a little anxious. "Mum... where's Dad?"

"Oh, your father was paged last night. He had to go to the office," her mother replied, but something in her eyes told Lily that she was lying.

"Okay," Lily answered, and started eating her cereal.

"Now Petunia, I'll drop you off at camp, and then Lily... you can stay home, I have a surprise for you!"

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"Lily dear... are you home?"

"Yea, mum," answered Lily. She was sprawled out on the couch watching old cartoons, wearing her grey tracksuit pants and eating a cinnamon doughnut for late brunch. She had been at home alone for the past hour, and felt like moping a bit. After all, Petunia had gone to camp, while she was stuck at home for another two months.

"Lily, there's someone here to see you."

Katherine came into the room carrying a strange blue bag. And following her, walking in his usual confident fashion was...

JAMES POTTER.

The hottest guy in Hogwarts. The one which all the girls were chasing after. With his shiny black hair, beautiful hazel eyes and impressive facial features, James Potter was damn good-looking, and he knew it.

Now Lily's biggest crush was standing right there, in her living room.

Lily jumped to her feet, turning off the TV and dropping her doughnut in the process. She wiped her mouth, hoping she didn't have cinnamon all over it. "James? What are you doing here?"

"Knitting," James replied, flashing her that killer smile of his.

"Don't be silly," Katherine said. She gestured to the bags clustered around James's feet. "Lily, James's mother has gone on a business trip to France for the rest of the summer. I promised her that we'd look after James while she was gone, and take him to Hogwarts at the end of summer for the start of fourth year."

Lily was speechless. JAMES POTTER? In her house for a month and a half? What would happen if he saw her changing, or her Dad told him embarrassing stories? She couldn't live with him, at least not in the same house!

"Lily, stop gawping and show James the guest bedroom. That's where he'll be staying."

"Thanks, Mrs Evans. I'm totally grateful," James said as they started up the stairs.

"Oh James, it's all my pleasure. You just have a wonderful summer here. And you two behave yourselves!" added Mrs Evans with a wink.

"We will," Lily said, and blushed furiously. And the adventure's just beginning, she added to herself silently.


	2. James, Problems ahead

James

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I dropped my bags on the blue-carpeted floor, and looked around the Evans' so-called "guestroom".

More like dungeon.

It was a tiny room; my wardrobe at home was bigger. The walls were not painted, and a small naked window at one end of the room let in a few slivers of light. A cot sat in one corner, and some port-a-drawers was placed directly opposite. An attempt had been made to make the room look pretty by placing a small vase of fake flowers on the port-a-drawers, but they just looked out of place. The only thing that was pleasant in the room was the carpet, and compared to my cashmere rugs at home, these were nothing.

Behind me, Lily Evans made a small choking noise through her throat. I turned around and looked at her. She was standing in the doorway shuffling her feet, and I could see how red her cheeks were.

"Um... Mum and Dad haven't really finished the guest room yet..." she stammered, looking away to avoid eye contact.

Cute.

Lily's mother appeared. She looked around.

"Oh James! I forgot what our guest room really looked like!"

She barged in, pushing Lily aside, and started fussing with the flowers. "Jimmy... we could never expect you to stay in here!"

Jimmy?

I remembered that Jim was often a nickname for James. But Jimmy?? My own _mother _didn't call me _Jimmy._

Katherine just turned and smiled at me. "I have an idea. Lily... go move Petunia's bed into your bedroom. James can sleep in your room, in Petunia's bed, while she's gone."

WHAT?

Lily had gone so red she was almost beetroot. "Mum- my- my bedroom?"

I could feel the colour draining from my cheeks. Sleep in a girl's room? With Lily?

"Mum... I could always move into Petunia's room!"

"Don't be stupid Lily. I'm going to organise for Petunia's room to be re-wallpapered. She's been complaining about that wallpaper for years. And maybe I'll get this room done too." She touched the bare wall with her fingers. "It would look good in pale blue."

Lily sighed and shuffled down the hallway to another room. I followed her, thinking that at least I could help her move the bed.

She walked into what was obviously her sister's room. I trailed behind, and almost got blown away.

The carpet was pink. The curtains were pink. Everything had a ballerina on it. There were posters of ballerinas on the walls, and a shelf full of porcelain ballerina figures. It was like insect repellent for guys. The only weird thing about it- the wallpaper was a kind of murky green, and really gross. I could see why Petunia didn't like it.

I smiled weakly. "Eh... so your sister likes ballerinas?"

Lily didn't answer; just looked at me like she was afraid I would bite. She had really pretty green eyes, and some cute curves. I could see why Sirius always wolf-whistled at her when we passed her in the halls last year. I hadn't really noticed her before now. Yasmine Fletcher had been on my mind all of last year, but the blonde bimbo had used magic in the Easter holidays and had gotten herself expelled. Yasmine probably went to Beauxbatons now, the French version of Hogwarts, and she'd sent me a postcard from France. I hadn't read it. I don't like long-distance relationships.

Wait til I told Sirius that I had stayed in Lily's bedroom...

Lily grabbed some of the cushions and fluffy teddies off the ballerina-print bedspread and chucked them onto a nearby chair that was covered in the same frilly pink material the curtains were made of. She grabbed one end of the bed and glanced at me. "Um..."

"Oh right, you want me to help?" I walked over and grabbed the other end of the bed. "One, two, three."

We shuffled slowly out of the room, holding the bed securely, and gradually moved down the hallway. Lily's face was sweaty, and my messy hair was flopping onto my forehead. It was seriously annoying me.

"Lily- I-"

"What?" She grunted, trying to manage the bed.

"I need to- put the bed down-'' my hair was in my face, tickling my nose and making me sneeze.

"No James! You can't!"

"I'm putting it down!" I yelled, as my hair got into my nose, and I dropped the heavy bed and sneezed. "ACHOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"SHIT JAMES!"

Lily was standing in the middle of the hallway, clutching her foot and hopping up and down.

"Oh no!" I cried, rushing over to Lily and grabbing her. "What happened?"

"YOU DROPPED THE FREAKIN BED!" She swiped at my hands. "Can you please not touch me?"

"Sorry," I said, pushing my fringe back and looking at her foot. It was bright red, like her face, and I could tell she was going to have some nasty bruises. "Uh... are you going to be okay?"

Lily the shy had suddenly turned into Lily the seething. She glared at me and muttered, "Yea I'm fine... no thanks to you."

"Okay..."

She walked over to the bed. "Here. We should try again."

"Alright... I promise not to drop it."

"You had better not!"

We re-started the long shuffle to her bedroom, and I caught sight of her face as I lifted the bed. She was still staring at me angrily, and there was a grouchy look in her eyes. I could tell that she didn't want me in her house, let alone in her room.

I sighed. It was gonna be a long summer.

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Ah... Lily now hates James. Or does her later loathing for him have a deeper meaning to it? Stick around and find out... I promise I'll update soon!


	3. Lily, Hating James

I am soooooooooooo happy about all the reviews I got for last chapter! I was going totally ecstatic and freaking my brother out... lol. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! I can't thank you enough!

I know all of you guys wanted me to continue... so I have.

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Lily

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James and I scuffled with our feet, trying to drag Petunia's heavy bed to my bedroom. We were moving like a snail with arthritis, and my throbbing foot wasn't helping me.

I could see James out of the corner of my eye, and he was looking at me guiltily. I could tell that he felt responsible for my foot... even though it barely hurt.

When he had first arrived, I was mortified. James Potter? In my house? Then Mum had announced he would have to stay in my room because of the bloody guestroom being unfinished. James Potter? In my _bedroom_?

Then, when he had dropped the bed on my foot, I decided to act... cool. James Potter was at the peak of cool. He was the most popular guy in Hogwarts, after all. If I acted like my foot hurt loads, he would probably feel sorry for me. I could picture it now... me swinging in a hammock, watching cartoons on TV, and James making me iced tea and changing my pillows, giving me a long, passionate kiss every time he did something for me.

Once I heard in a movie; "Sometimes if you say no, it just makes them want you more". That was so totally my new motto.

"Er... Lily?" James said tentatively. "Where should we put this?"

I looked up. We were approaching my room, finally. "Just put it on the floor... that open space there."

We eased the bed through the door and were about to put the bed down when James nudged something on the floor with his foot.

"What's this?"

_My diary._

"Oh... nothing!" I said, putting my end of the bed down carefully and picking it up swiftly. "Just... something stupid... hehe..."

I had no idea how it had gotten on the floor, and I just hoped James would never open it. All of the front page, I had written;

"I love James" 

"_James Potter is hot"_

"_Mrs Lily Potter"_

"_Mrs James Potter"_

As James put his the bed down and turned towards the mirror, fixing his hair, I put my diary back into a drawer in my desk, shoving it under some papers and magazines. Then I swept my eyes over the room, hoping that nothing else embarrassing was showing.

My room was all blue and white, my favourite colours. I only had a bed, desk, tallboy, chair and a small closet in my room but with a second bed, the entire room looked very cramped and tiny. I sincerely prayed that I wouldn't have to go to the bathroom during the night; if so, I would probably wake James and the whole house with my crashing into furniture.

James turned away from the mirror, satisfied with his hair, and half-grinned at me. "Is your foot okay?"

"Oh... yea, I guess," I said, and pulled on some sneakers lying next to my bed to avoid further accidents. "Just hurts a tiny bit."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

One of those long, awkward silences followed, and I saw something behind him that made my face flush. Taped to my wall, next to my photo of my friend Amelia, was a photo of him I'd cut out of the school newsletter when he won the inter-house Quidditch cup at Hogwarts. James Potter did NOT need to see a photo of himself on my wall.

"Er... James!" I said. "I think Mum's calling you! Yes, I think it's lunchtime!"

"Really?" James said. "Good! I'm starving, I am."

"Yea... why don't you, ah, go freshen up before lunch... the bathroom's just down the hall," I replied, pointing.

"Okay," James said, and tried to step over Petunia's bed, but he just tripped over it instead. He got up... _and saw the picture of himself on my wall._

I could tell that he'd seen it. He didn't say anything, but I saw the smirk on his face and as he turned around, the smirk stayed as he locked eyes with me. James slowly walked out of the room, and entered the bathroom.

I felt like screaming in frustration. I ripped James's picture off the wall and tore it in half, chucking it into the waste-paper basket. I was never going to live this down.

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That evening, at dinner, Mum smiled at James. "Jimmy darling... would you like some more turkey?"

Mum had made an entire turkey, plus roast potatoes and salad, for James. I had to admit that even though the turkey was a little chewy, James didn't have a very big appetite and without Dad at the table, about three quarters of the turkey was still on the big roasting pan.

"No thank you, Mrs Evans..." James said, struggling to chew through his current mouthful.

Mum pushed away her plate and smiled at us. "Alright then... I have an idea. How about we go and watch some movies?"

"What kind of movies?" I asked suspiciously.

Mum just smiled, put away the turkey and stacked the plates in the sink. She took a packet of chocolate biscuits out of the cupboard, and James and I followed her into the lounge room.

I sat on the blue couch and James sat on the red couch. I was still trying to act cool, although every time he looked at me with his green eyes I totally melted.

Mum popped a video into the VCR and we settled back to watch...

_HOME FREAKING VIDEOS._

_WITH JAMES POTTER._

I sat on the coach, mouth wide open, staring at myself on the screen. Me and Petunia at Christmas... on summer holidays... and ME IN THE BATH.

NAKED.

It was only when I was about six, but it was still really embarrassing. Dad had recorded me singing in the bath, putting foam on my chin, and then I got out of the bath and ran around the house totally wet, with bubbles flying everywhere, Mum chasing me.

James and Mum were laughing their heads off.

I felt like I was going to explode.

And the embarrassing videos just kept continuing- like the time I got mad at Petunia at my eighth birthday, and chucked my birthday cake at her; when my cousin broke the head off my Barbie doll and I bawled my eyes out; the time I fell into a stream while on my bike; and most recently, my surprise twelfth birthday. I had come home from summer soccer practise, busting to go to the toilet, and when everyone had jumped out at me yelling "surprise!", I'd wet my pants.

At that last one, James just looked over at me like I was crazy and hid a snicker behind his hand.

At that point I totally lost it. I walked over to the VCR, pressed "Stop" and "Eject", and grabbed the tape.

"Hey!" James said.

"Lily!" Mum said. "We were watching that, young lady!"

"Yea, well, I'm DESTROYING this!" I cried, holding the tape and shaking it.

"Oh Lily," Mum said, "You drama queen. It was just a bit of fun."

"Yea, it was kind of funny," James said, smiling at me.

"NO!" I shrieked. "NO IT WASN'T!" And with that, I ran out of the room still clutching the tape.

I got into my pyjamas and turned off the light in my room, crawling into my cosy bed. A few minutes later, James came up the stairs. I heard him brushing his teeth in the bathroom, and he came into the room with his pyjamas on.

I buried my face in the pillow.

"Hey Lily," James whispered quietly, "I'm sorry that I laughed."

I stayed silent.

He walked into the room, and got into Petunia's bed. Everything was quiet for a little while, and then he spoke again.

"Everyone has embarrassing home movies of themselves, you know."

Silence. My face stayed in the pillow.

"Well... goodnight, Lily."

I lay in bed, silently, for another half hour, listening to James's steady breathing. The moonlight shining through the window illuminated his beautiful facial features, and his hair flopped on his forehead so innocently I was just dying to go and brush it off. He looked so sweet and innocent, just lying there, that I found myself speaking softly:

"You're not too bad, James Potter."

Then I watched as his eyes opened, and he flashed that grin of his at me.

"You're not too bad yourself, Lily Evans," he said, and winked.

SHIT.

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I hope you guys all like the third chappie! I have a feeling it's not as good as the other two... but we'll see...

THANKS to everyone who's reviewed:

**Cilverblood- **If you read this chapter, you now know that Lily doesn't quite hate James... just because he dropped a bed on her foot! Lol... sorry about your brothers!

**Emerald Eyed Cutie- **Thanks heaps! Did I keep up the "dandyness"?

**Lilykins, lilchocolatechip011, FeltionLover101, nonierose- **Thank you all for reading my story, I'm glad all of you liked it!

Sunni07- I forgive you! Sorry if my chapters are short, I can never write really long chapters because I feel it drags on a bit. I prefer to keep everything short, sweet and with changing points of views. 

**Vickiicky- **I probably would too, and that's how Lily feels!

**Egg-n-head- **You would be peeved if someone dropped a bed on your foot! Remind me to test it on you sometime!

Yea he is kind of stuck up isn't he? I guess it's all the looking in the mirror and stuff...


	4. James, the Big Secret

Omg, omg, omg omg. I am so totally squealing my head off right now! When I got home today, I found 15 messages in my inbox; all of them reviews from you guys! I am so glad that everyone likes it, and I promise that I'll continue this story until (sigh) the end. Perhaps a sequel would be a good idea? We'll see!

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JAMES

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French toast?

I stared down at the plate in front of me.

I did not _eat _French toast.

Especially not French toast that was soggy, with raw egg still dripping off the bread in the middle, and stone cold with a glob of melted butter on the side.

My mother... my mother made me wonderful breakfasts- chocolate-chip waffles, maple syrup pancakes and wonderful sunny-side eggs with crisp bacon.

Of course, my mother was golden. She was sweet, and beautiful, and I loved her more than anything else in the world. Except for Dad. Dad was the best, he would take me out and teach me new spells, or we would just throw a ball around. Except Dad had been promoted to a new spot in the Ministry of Magic, and he was rarely home. Mother had gone on her business trip to France, to try and promote her line of designer clothing for witches.

I stared at the French toast again, and my mother's last words to me before she got on the plane echoed in my head. "Be good, James. Be good, and pray for me."

_Pray _for her? We weren't a religious family... she probably just wanted a bit of help with her clothing line. Not that many people want hot-pink mini-skirted robes, if you catch my drift.

But I wanted to be good... for mother. After all, if I misbehaved, Lily's mum would be on the phone in a second, distracting mother from her hard work. Mother had always been so wonderful to me... trying to make me so happy... I knew that if she thought I was not enjoying myself, she'd hire an au pair or take _me _to France. And as I already mentioned- _I didn't like long-distance relationships._

So I got my fork and stabbed at my French toast, taking a small bite and putting it into my mouth. Katherine looked at me and smiled hopefully.

"Mmm... good..." I said meekly, chewing slowly. It tasted like cardboard, which was unusual since it was egg and bread.

Lily, across the table from me, was chewing quickly, occasionally dipping her bread into her glass of milk next to her. That was pretty gross too, judging by the fact she now had breadcrumbs in the milk, but I guessed she needed something to distract her from the taste of uncooked egg yolk.

She was cute, eating the bread neatly and avoiding my eyes. That morning I'd woken up to find her sitting on her bed, fully washed and dressed. I knew she liked me. It was so obvious, the way she'd had a picture of me on her wall and how she'd whispered to me in the dark in her bedroom, admitting that she liked me. I guess I'd ruined it by being my usual funny self, because now she was obviously mortified and avoiding my glance at all costs.

I tried to think of a way to sneak that videotape out of her room and show it to Sirius- that would be just hilarious. Then I realised that if I made copies of it and sent it around the school, or if I magicked parts of it onto fliers, it would make her much more popular. Lily Evans had never been too popular, and she would thank me heaps for making her new friends... maybe she'd even go out with me?

I just _had _to get that videotape.

A loud "BANG" startled me out of my thoughts, and I dropped my French toast into the melted butter on the side of my plate, making it even soggier and more disgusting. A large man, broad shouldered slouched through the fly screen door at the end of the kitchen. Lily screamed with joy and dropped her French toast as well, flying towards the man with her arms wide open.

"DAD!" Lily shrieked, and hugged him with joy.

Katherine's eyes, however, widened with something that looked like... fear. She walked behind the kitchen counter and started chopping up a banana, like she was trying to protect herself or something. She smiled, although it looked strained to me, and said in a sort of trembly voice, "Hi Louis

The man, who I assumed was Lily's father, glanced at her quickly and his gaze then drifted to me. His eyes widened in shock as he realised a total boy stranger was sitting at his kitchen table, eating French toast off his plates.

"Katherine..." Lily's father said slowly, still looking at me.

"Oh!" Katherine wiped her hands on a dishcloth and bustled over to me. "I haven't introduced you. James, this is Lily's father, Louis. Louis, this is James Potter, Lily's friend from school. We're taking care of him for a few days."

"Friend? From school?" Louis sounded slightly hoarse, and he loosened the neck of his tie as if it were strangling him. "Taking care of him?"

"_Yes," _Katherine replied, sounding annoyed. "You've met his mother, Louis, you know, Bella Potter? We saw James's family at the train station, we did, and I talked to James's mother. She's a fashion designer." She was talking quickly, like she was trying to convince Louis that having me in the house was a good idea.

Louis, however, looked as grouchy as he had before, and looked at Katherine. "We need to talk."

The poor woman looked flustered, and wrung her hands together. She looked at Lily and said, "Lily darling, why don't you and James go down to the Dolphin today?"

"Okay," Lily said, and walked out of the room. I followed her.

As we were walking up the stairs, I asked her, "What's the Dolphin?"

"The local pool," Lily said quietly, still avoiding my eyes by staring at the carpet. "I hope you brought your swimmers..."

"Yes," I replied, wishing that I'd brought my red swimsuit. Apparently red makes your... er... "goods" look bigger.

"Well," Lily said quietly, "Um... we'll get our swimmers, and we'll change in the bathroom."

"Okay," I said, and grabbed my blue Speedos from my bag while Lily rummaged around in her tallboy for her swimmers. We walked to the bathroom, and Lily turned red again for some reason. What, did she think we were going to change together??

"You can go first," I said quickly.

"Alright," Lily said, and went into the bathroom. I heard the lock click as she closed the door, and I leaned against the banister of the stairs clutching my swimsuit.

Suddenly I heard shouting noises, and I leaned further down to hear what they were saying downstairs.

"Who was that, Katherine, and why is he in our house?"

"THAT was James Potter, Louis! We're taking care of him while his mother is away!"

"I don't trust no boy in our house! And with Lily... she's not protected against him, Katherine! You don't know what they could do up there, behind your back!"

"James is a perfectly respectable boy!"

"You don't know men's hormones, Katherine!"

"Stop changing the subject, anyway, Louis! Where the hell have you been?"

"Freaking hell, Katherine, I'm a full grown man. I can go anywhere I want, whenever I want, without you trailing me like a bloodhound."

"Louis, I am your wife! I have a right to know where you are!"

"You are no wife of mine." This voice was softer, and sounded... almost deadly.

"What?" Katherine's voice had softened, and I recognised the sound of heartbreak.

"You heard me, Katherine."

"I... I don't understand..."

"Katherine, do you not recognise the signs of a man's hatred? I've been dating another woman for over a year!"

There was silence, and Louis continued.

"I hate you! I've always loathed you! You forced me into marrying you, and I was never happy!"

A choked reply followed. "Louis..."

"I'm marrying my girlfriend next month, and I want a divorce!"

"Louis..."

"And you have no say against it, you bitch!"

I heard the sickening slap of skin against skin, and heard a soft noise behind me. Lily was standing behind me silently in the bathroom doorframe, the expression on her face terrified. I heard the slam of a door downstairs, and the footsteps going up the stairs.

Katherine's tear-stricken face had a bruise covering one cheek, and as she looked at us she realised that we had heard every word. Her blood-shot eyes filled with tears, and as she looked at the two of us staring at her, she said very silently:

"Lily... James... go to the pool, please."

Lily's mouth dropped open, and she pushed past her mother and ran down the stairs. I could see tears streaming down her cheeks as she dashed out the front door and onto the street.

"Shit," I said. "I'd better go after her." Running down the stairs, I looked behind me and saw Katherine's troubled face.

"I'm sorry, Mrs Evans," I yelled, as I dashed out the door after Lily.

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Thank you to all my gorgeous reviewers:

Sunni07, cilverblood, egg-n-head, vickiicky, nonierose, feltonlover101, lilchocolatechip011, lilykins, emerald eyed cutie, Hermione weasley, veggy-mite, tekvah ariel, amour-lily, monkeys rok my sox, shortnsweet9013, Hogwarts-fanatic91, maraudersmuggle10, randomfrizzhead and nino!

Keep reading and reviewing, and I'll keep updating! I can't wait to write the next chapter... I have something great in mind!


	5. Lily, All Confused

Aww you guys are all so sweet! Thank you for reviewing!

I've made myself promise that I can't update my stories until I finish my assignments... I've got SO MUCH to do...

Anyway, this is a very interesting chapter that I just LOVE! Have fun!

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"I'm sorry love, but it costs a dollar to get in."

I glared at the middle-aged balding guy standing in the booth, selling tickets to get into the pool. He was blocking my way in, and I didn't have a dollar.

"And for two dollars, you get a free pool toy!" He held up an uninflated pool ring and smiled at me encouragingly.

Arrgh.

The line of people behind me was getting restless, and a lot of people were standing on their tiptoes to see what the hold up was. The woman behind me was struggling with her two toddlers, three beach bags and five towels, and accidentally bopped me in the shins with one of her beach bags.

"Sorry," the woman said, and one of the toddlers wrenched his hand from her grip and squirmed through the entrance, running towards the kiddie pool.

"Luke!" The woman screamed after the toddler, still trying to control her other child.

"Don't worry ma'am, I'll get him," the guy in the booth said, and stepped out the back to chase after the kid.

This was my chance. I waited until the man had his back to me, and sprinted as fast as I could into the changing room.

I didn't really like the Dolphin; there was only one changing room that men, women and children had to share; luckily it was empty, so I sat down in a corner and thought about what had happened.

Dad had been seeing another woman? Behind Mum's back? And he was going to leave... leave us forever... another tear fell onto my bare knees. I had loved Dad so much, and now he was abandoning us. There had been something between Mum and Dad for so long, and now the problem had surfaced.

Where was that woman that had broken apart our family? I could feel the hatred bubbling up inside me... somehow I would find her, somehow...

And Mum! Mum would fall apart without Dad. He was like her backbone- he made all the money for our household, paid for Petunia's school, and cooked most of the meals. Now he had turned violent against Mum... and was leaving her! The bastard!

More tears spilled from my eyes, and rolled down my cheeks. Nothing would ever be the same again.

Suddenly a voice interrupted my thoughts. "Hey Cinderella... you dropped your towel."

James Potter was striding across the changing room, holding out my silly Pocahontas towel. I checked my bag, and sure enough it had disappeared.

I wiped my eyes and looked at James blearily. "James?"

"That's my name, don't wear it out," he retorted cockily, smiling.

"How- how did you know that I was here?"

"Well... your mother did tell you to go to the pool. I asked some lady directions, and paid the guy at the booth two dollars, admission for both of us." His eyes sparkled. "I think he's forgiven you for sneaking in."

"James... did you hear..."

Suddenly James moved from his standing position, and sat down next to me.

"Yea, Lily, I heard."

"Well Dad... he's not usually like that. He made it all up, I mean. He was only joking, he does this a lot."

"Lily-"

"And Mum, she always bangs into the cupboard door, haha it's funny." I was talking too fast, trying to explain myself, and I could tell by his expression that he didn't believe me. I faltered.

"Lily..." James's voice was pitying, and I couldn't stand it. "Lily, you don't have to pretend."

"I'm not!" I cried, and tried to sit down.

"Don't," James said, and pulled me back down. I was surprised to see that he didn't take his hand away from my hand as I sat down.

"Lily," James said quietly, quieter than I had ever heard him. "I understand what's happening. My dad had another woman... my parents got back together after about a month of my dad living away from home. They love each other now. It's the same as your situation... I promise, it'll be okay."

I turned my head towards him, my eyes blazing with tears. "Tell me, James," I whispered, "Did your Dad hit your Mum?"

"No..."

"Did you ever wake up at night, and hear the walls shaking from their shouting?"

"No..."

"Did they sleep on separate beds since you were nine?"

James just shook his head quietly.

"And just let me know, James," I yelled at him, my body shaking, "Was your father forced into marrying your mother, and hated her from the day he said 'I do'? Did your parents really hate other, or was your father's relationship just a little fling? _A short change of frickin' scenery_?"

With that last sentence, I fell off the seat and collapsed onto the wet cement, crying so hard I felt like my heart would break.

I felt James get off his chair, and heave me off the ground and back onto the seat. I felt weak. I laid my head on his lap and let the tears leak freely.

James just stroked my hair like a mother consoling a child, and whispered to me, comforting me. "It'll be okay, Lily."

I looked up into his eyes, and saw something I had never seen in his eyes before. Seriousness. And sincerity.

"I promise, Lily... as long as I'm around, I'll never let anything happen to you."

Then he leaned forward... and kissed me on the lips. It was magical, sweet and exciting- all at the same time. I closed my eyes, which were still full of tears, and took in the moment. I wanted to remember it forever.

"Ooh, look at the naughty children!"

I opened my eyes and sat up to see a fat woman bustle into the changing room, with a seven-year-old boy who was giggling.

I jumped up and sprinted out of the changing room as fast as I could, shedding my t-shirt along the way. Reaching the crowded pool area, I did the biggest cannon ball I could into the water.

The lifeguard blew his whistle and pointed at me, but I was too worried to care. Kissing James? What had I been _thinking_? This would ruin everything... my good reputation was stuffed. AND he was going to stay in my ROOM for over a month... what was going to happen? I closed my eyes and allowed myself to sink underwater, the cool water rushing over my head. I wished that the past few days had never happened, that James Potter had never come to stay at our house, that Dad had never revealed to Mum that he was leaving her...

Then something really strong was pulling me out of the water, and dragging me over to the side of the pool.

JAMES!

He looked hot in blue swimmers, and he grinned at me as I pushed back my wet hair self-consciously.

"Why'd you run away like that?" James said to me.

I opened my mouth but stayed silent, and James just grinned again.

"I just wanted you to know, Lily... I like you heaps."

Before I could answer, he pushed off from the side of the pool and disappeared into the crowd of swimming people. I was left totally speechless.

"Oooooo Lily, who was that?"

I turned around to find my neighbours grinning at me.

Jenny and Joanne lived down the street from me, and were eleven and thirteen years old. They swam towards me, their matching purple sequinned bikinis glittering in the strong sunlight. Even though they weren't twins, they looked alike and dressed alike.

Joanne, the oldest of the pair, winked at me. "Wow, he's hot, isn't he?"

I forgot my worries and found myself surrounded in girly gossip as more and more of my Muggle neighbourhood friends approached me. I told everyone about how he went to my Scottish "boarding school" (the school all my friends thought I went to, instead of Hogwarts), and how he was staying at my house, and how he had kissed me. I left out the part about him staying in my room- the teasing would never stop!

"Woah," My friend Lulu said, looking across the pool at James, "Look at that bod. It's even better than Leo's, you know."

"You kissed him?" Jenny exclaimed. "Lily, you should definitely go after him."

"I don't know," I said hesitantly. Getting mixed up with James could be a big mistake.

"Oh," Joanne suddenly said, looking at her waterproof watch. "We have to go, Jenny. We promised Mum that we'd be back for lunch."

"Ohmigod!" I exclaimed, and got out of the pool. I had totally forgotten about Mum. I had to go home.

"James," I called, walking over to the chair where he was working on his tan, "We have to go home! Unless you want to stay..."

"No," James said, leaping up. "I guess you want to see what's happening at home..."

"Yea," I said quietly, and moved towards the changing rooms.

Within five minutes we had our t-shirts on, towels wrapped around our waists and were heading out. The man at the entrance booth gave me a dirty look as we walked out, but I didn't care.

James and I walked back home in silence, but James's words kept echoing around in my head. "I'll never let anything happen to you, Lily", "I like you heaps, Lily"... unbelievable.

We reached the front door and I found the spare key underneath the cactus pot plant, opened the front door and stepped in. James followed me.

"Mum?" I yelled. "Mum!"

We entered the kitchen and I saw a note taped to the fridge:

Lily- 

I'm sorry about what happened earlier, and I want you to understand that this was coming for a long time. I need some time to myself; can you and James manage for a little while without me? Thank you, darling, and don't worry about me. Everything will be fine.

_Love from Mum_

I looked up from the note and met James's eyes. "Mum'll be home soon," I said. "I'm gonna get changed."

I ran upstairs and took a quick shower, scrubbing the chlorine out of my hair. Mum had said that it would all be okay... I felt my spirits lifting slightly as I turned off the water and dried myself off, wrapping my fluffy towel around me. I realised that I hadn't brought my underwear into the bathroom, so I left the bathroom to get it.

Then I walked into my bedroom and _saw James putting the home video tape into his bag._

I was so shocked I dropped my towel, revealing everything to the world.

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Arrrgh I can't believe Lily dropped her towel, in front of James! Or rather, I made her drop her towel!

This is my favourite chapter so far... what do you guys think?

Of course, I have embarrassed myself many times in front of guys... talking to stuffed dogs on the bus, trying to act cool and not succeeding... but let's leave the stories for another time. Like Lily said, I'd never live it down.

Thank you to all my reviewers, especially my very dedicated ones!

**Egg-n-head- **I'm a very surprising person, you know. Thank you for reviewing so much!

**Jocelyn- **Sorry, I don't think I'll continue until they have Harry. I'm not sure, but please stick around and see what my amazing mind comes up with!

**Becky6- **I would be so embarrassed if a guy stole my home movies... oh well...

Marauders-Wzrd10- Thanks! 

**Sunni07- **Ah I wish I could... but oh well... thank you for being one of my most dedicated reviewers!


	6. James, the Arrival

I'm sorry if this is a short chapter, but I'm a bit sick and whenever I sit up or stand up I go all dizzy and my head spins... oh well, it's not too bad, and I'm sure I'll be able to manage!

Thank you to all my very dedicated readers AND reviewers. You don't have to review if you don't want to, just reading the story will make me happy! (Not that I know that you've actually read the story if you haven't reviewed... but oh well.)

So far: James has attempted to steal Lily's home videos, and Lily's caught him in the act- but stuffed it up by dropping her towel.

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JAMES

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"Er, Lily... could you please pass me the salt?"

A stony-faced Lily stared at her plate determinedly and ignored me.

"That's okay, then," I said hurriedly, starting to get up from my seat.

"Don't be silly, James!"

A bright but quavery voice interrupted our... quiet... dinner. Lily glanced up at the kitchen door, and I followed her gaze- and almost fell off my chair.

An old, wrinkly woman with bright green hair, holding a bright pink poodle under one arm and carrying a leopard-skin carpetbag was stepping into the kitchen. The door slammed behind her and the pink poodle turned its head and started barking at the door insanely, like it was alive or something.

"This is why you should always keep your door locked," I hissed to Lily.

"Oh, I'm not a loony!" The woman boomed, setting the poodle and the carpetbag down on the floor. She walked over to Lily and grabbed the salt resting in front of her, and rolled it down the table to me. "What are you eating, sugar?" she asked Lily, poking the scrambled eggs I had whipped up for us for dinner, seeing as her mother was still gone.

"Grandma?" Lily said meekly, looking up at the green-haired woman, who, upon closer inspection, was wearing an orange afghan and crocodile-skin high-heels. "What are you doing here?"

The crazy woman just grabbed Lily's plate and dumped it in the trash, and did the same with my plate.

"Don't worry, my dears, I'll make you something good to eat."

The poodle strutted over to me, sniffed my socks and looked at me rather viciously. I pulled my legs up onto the chair, just to be safe. As far as pink balls of fluff go, this one looked... evil.

Lily's grandmother tore herself away from the pantry, where she was obviously searching for something to cook, and picked up the poodle.

"Don't mind Fluffalina, Jamesie, she just loves chewing socks."

Fluffalina, in the safety of her owner's arms, gave me a doggie version of the evil eye.

"Gran..." Lily spoke out at last. "Why are you here?"

The old woman opened her carpetbag, and placed the poodle inside. The carpetbag was so big that only the poodle's little nose poked out of the top. She then walked over to the pantry again, and pulled out some macaroni, before answering Lily's question.

"That silly daughter of mine just had to screw it up, didn't she?" I watched as she boiled the macaroni on the stove and grabbed the cheese from the refrigerator. "I told her, be nice to Louis, he's a hard soul. But noooo... first she lets him get away, then two hours later, she goes after him, leaving two thirteen-year-olds in the house by themselves."

"We're fourteen," I said, but Lily shushed me.

"So, of course, I had to pack my carpetbag and catch the bus over here." She nodded her head at Fluffalina. "My poor little Fluffy-kins was not happy, she was howling the whole time I was trying to pack my bag. Sounded like she was being tortured."

That was when the old woman glanced over at me, and smiled.

"I'm Hendrevina, Lily's grandmother. You can call me Henny, if you like."

I smiled back, praying that she wouldn't be staying long. Henny looked... batty to me. Or maybe it was just the green hair?

Then Henny caught sight of herself in a saucepan, and winced. "Oh dear... look at my hair... I guess the travelling messed it up."

She closed her eyes, and screwed her face up in concentration. Then, in a matter of seconds, her hair changed from green to a pink.

"There we go!" Henny said brightly. "Now I match Fluffalina!"

Fluffalina gave a little bark of approval, and I turned my stunned face to Henny. "How... how did you do that?"

"Oh, I'm a metamorphmagus," she said proudly, mixing the cheese in with the macaroni.

"You mean... you're a witch?"

"Of course!" Henny said, her eyes dancing. "Where do you think little Lily got her powers from? I mean, neither of her parents are wizards, obviously..."

I turned to Lily. "Are you a metamorphmagus too?"

Lily didn't answer me, so Henny replied. "Of course not, dearie, they're very rare. I bet you'd like to be one though, James..." -her eyes drifted to my hair- "Look at the state of that hair... do you own a comb?"

"_Yes_," I answered stiffly. "Hey... there's this girl in Hogwarts... Tonks..."

Then it was Henny's turn to become stiff. "I am NOT related to Nymphadora Tonks," she said crisply, "Or any of her family."

"Why-" I started to say, but Lily glared at me, and even the poodle managed to lift its head and give me another evil eye.

"Hey, Gran... how is that macaroni coming along?" Lily asked quietly, a deadly tone in her voice as she sent me a look that said, "I hate you".

"Er... you know, I'm really not that hungry," I said quickly, while the delicious smell of cheese drifted towards me. "Lily... maybe we should go to bed... it's getting late," and shot _her _a look that said, "We need to talk".

Henny glanced at the small, chestnut clock the Evans kept above the counter, and frowned.

"It's only eight o'clock, James."

"You see, James comes from one of those snob families that believe in beauty sleep," Lily said, looking smug. "And I'm worn out from all the things that happened today..."

We both got up from the table and headed for the stairs. I heard Henny mumble to Fluffalina, "Oh well, all the more for us, dear. Do you want a bit? Come on... I know you like cheese..."

"Crazy," I muttered, and Lily turned around from her position on the stairs and kneed me where she knew it would hurt most. And it did hurt. I hopped around on the stair I was on, squeezing my legs together and trying not to fall back _down _the stairs.

"Bastard!" Lily screamed, and stormed up the stairs, running into her room.

I ran up the stairs as fast as I could, ignoring my throbbing crotch, and entered her room to find her on _my bed_ (or rather, Petunia's bed), stripping the sheets off it and chucking them in my direction.

"Er... Lily?" I said quizzically, when she moved on from the bed to my suitcase.

"I- HATE- YOU!" she screamed, chucking my silver hairdryer at me.

"Lily-"

"First- you- invade my privacy-"

My favourite book came whizzing at my head.

"Then- you WITNESS- my parents divorce, and you see me naked-"

"It was very nice," I said meekly, but she didn't seem to hear me.

"AND- you- you- stole my videotape, what for? To show to Sirius and all your other gang members? Or were you gonna make copies and send it round Hogwarts?"

I blushed, and she promptly threw a pair of red swimmers at me.

"Ah! So I did bring them!" I said brightly, but Lily just gave me another death stare.

"AND now you go and bag out my grandmother! Even if YOUR- your- grandmother had aqua hair and a cat, I wouldn't complain, even- even- though I'm ALLERGIC to cats!"

"I'm sorry," I said quietly, staring at the wall where my picture had previously hung. "Really I am."

Lily was suddenly worn out by all her screaming and lay down on Petunia's bed, her eyes staring at the ceiling.

"Are you really sorry?" she whispered.

I sensed a romantic moment approaching, and sat down next to her on the bed.

"Yep... and your kiss earlier, that was beautiful."

I slowly leaned towards her, parting my lips and closing my eyes.

Suddenly something very pointy and very hard jabbed me in my closed eye. I opened my un-damaged eye, and found Lily holding my gold-plated pen.

"I am NOT one of your little bimbos that you go out with and then cheat on!" she cried. "And obnoxious, lying, know-it-alls do NOT sleep in my room! GET OUT!"

I knew by her tone that she meant business, and grabbed a pillow. On my way out, I decided to try one more time and stopped in the doorway.

"What about hot, handsome guys who like to kiss you?"

My gold-plated pen flew at me and whacked me on the cheek.

"Jeez," I mumbled to myself, and as I started down the stairs, I heard the door to Lily's room slam shut.

In the living room, I settled down on their short, uncomfortable couch. It was terribly unpleasant in the living room, with the grandfather clock ticking loudly and the shadows of the wonky vases imprinted on the walls. The cold air went right through my thin t-shirt, and I shivered. I got up to get the thin quilt from a cabinet beside the empty fireplace, and then lay back down on the couch, feeling considerably warmer.

That was when the door opened to the kitchen, and the figure of Henny appeared in the doorway. She entered the living room, followed closely by Fluffalina.

"James," she said softly, walking up to my makeshift bed. "When you say that you're sorry... look the person in the eye."

She walked slowly up the stairs, leaving me bewildered. How did she know?...

My thoughts were broken by something tugging at me, and I sat and watched as Fluffalina tugged off my thin blanket, and followed her master upstairs, letting it drag behind.

I turned my back on the stairs, and gave up.

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If anyone's feeling a little freaked out by Fluffalina, I can explain! I just LOVE poodles, and I named this poodle Fluffalina after one of my friends.

Don't worry... Fluffalina will soon have a VERY important role to play in this story!

I'm feeling a bit too worn-out to do separate thank-yous, but I will just say, THANKS HEAPS to everyone that's reviewed and showed that you care. Even the littlest sentences matter cough cough NINA. However, I just want to add a little note to Lilykins... since I wasn't alive in the seventies, I have no idea about what happened back then in England at that time (My parents are Polish, you see)! So right now I'm sort of pretending it's happening in current new-millennium times, rather than making a fool of myself talking about stuff I hadn't experienced. Have you gotten over the Speedo yet?


	7. Lily, the Truth

I'm terribly sorry to everyone who was dying for me to update, I've been absolutely overloaded with work, but I'm just about finished now! (Thank GOD!)

Thanks to everyone who updated, I'll try and do separate thank-yous at the end of the chappie so I'm not in debt or anything.

The holidays are in a few days (I'm so happy!) so hopefully I'll manage to finish the story in those two weeks!

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Lily

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I walked down the stairs the next morning, in my grey sweatshirt and rattiest jeans. I had had the biggest crush on James Potter just a few days ago. Now, as I watched him sleep on our couch with his hair flopping over his eyes, he couldn't have appealed to me more than a mosquito. No other guy could be more disgusting and obnoxious and... hot.

I shook my head to get rid of that thought, and spotted something on the fireplace. A small jar rested on the mantelpiece, full of something white. It had obviously been previously hidden behind the family portrait resting there, but it was sticking out a bit.

I grabbed the jar and opened it, sniffing the powder. It smelled like... ashes. Yep, it was definitely Floo powder. Once, my friend Amelia had showed me how it worked in the second year. But what was Floo powder doing in our house?

Then I remembered Grandma, and how she sometimes travelled to her friend's places by fireplace- although she did hate it when soot got into her hair, and she disliked the way Floo travel made you so _dizzy. _She often said it was bad for her old head.

So I ignored the Floo powder and walked straight past James, into the kitchen.

Grandma was already at the stove making scrambled eggs, and Fluffalina was sitting in Mum's wooden mixing bowl on the counter... just a _slightly_ unhygienic notion.

"Oh, hello, dear," Grandma said, turning and smiling at me. She pointed at Fluffalina. "Don't you think she looks just adorable? I was getting out all my utensils and she just hopped in, sweet, isn't it?"

"Yea," I said uneasily. "Did you sleep well, Gran?"

"I was alright," Gran replied, turning back to the stove. "But Fluffalina wasn't very happy... my poor Fluffy-kins was so cold in your mother's bedroom, she disappeared around ten and didn't come back until six o'clock this morning. At my house she has her own room with climate control, darling, you know that."

Fluffalina turned to me and growled, as if telling me off for not having climate-control in the house.

"So, dearie," Grandma said, "How much scrambled egg do you want?"

"I'm actually not that hungry," I admitted.

"Oh, come on... breakfast is the most important meal of the day! The ones who eat the most are the smartest!"

Trust James to walk in at that very moment, rumpling his hair so it looked even messier and yawning.

"Jeez, I'm starving..." he spotted the eggs. "Oh yum, are those all for me?"

"Sure are," Gran said happily, and dumped the whole saucepan on his plate.

I glared and Fluffalina growled. I was proud to hear that Gran's poodle didn't like James either... although Fluffy-kins didn't seem to like anyone except Gran.

"Mm," James said, munching on a mouthful of egg. "Oh, this is tasty. See, Lily?" and opened his mouth to show me a whole lot of churned up, squashy _egg._

_Gross._

I looked away, out the kitchen window to the cloudy day outside. It was the middle of summer, yet the clouds were a dark greyish colour and had gathered around the sun, blocking it out. I had been intending on going back to the pool, WITHOUT JAMES this time, but that was obviously not an option now.

"Well," Gran said cheerily, taking James's plate away from him, "I have to go visit Fiadora Loxins. She's terribly ill, and I knitted her a scarf." Gran gestured to her carpetbag. "I'll be back before five, dearies."

"Are you going by Floo, Gran?" I inquired.

"No," Gran replied, and got out her carpetbag. "Why do you think I bought a transporter?" She opened the carpetbag, and for some weird reason, stood in it. "Don't go outside, loves, it looks as if it might rain." Then, in the space of a few second's time, she knelt down in the carpetbag, said "The Loxins house!" very loudly, and disappeared.

Fluffalina hopped out of the wooden bowl she was sitting in, and trotted out of the room.

"Wow," James said, drinking straight out of the milk carton without getting a glass.

If she had a Transporter, why was the Floo powder on the fireplace?

"Gimme that," I snapped, grabbing the milk carton from him, and put it back in the fridge. "Now, listen here, James."

I looked straight into his gorgeous- no, very normal- hazel eyes, and spoke. "Don't you dare touch me, or talk to me. For the rest of the summer holidays, you're not to come near me. And when we go back to Hogwarts, none of this ever happened."

James just raised one perfect eyebrow at me. "So I'm supposed to tell my mates I spent my summer holidays in France?"

"There's nothing wrong with France," I said scathingly. "I don't understand why your mother didn't just take you there in the first place."

"Because she didn't want me bothering her," James replied. "And mind you, she won't be happy when she finds out your mother ran out on us..."

"SHE DIDN'T RUN OUT!" I shouted. "And if you don't like the way you're being treated, you can just LEAVE!"

Outside, a rumble of thunder sounded. It was far away, but low and ominous.

"I WOULD leave, except my mother TOLD ME to stay put!" James shouted back. It was the first time I'd heard him raise his voice, and I backed away slightly. "You think I wanted to stay here, Lily? You think I wanted to stay in the same house as my biggest crush?"

"Wha-what?" I said, caught off-guard. James... had a crush on me? Before he'd even come to my house?

"Thaaaaaats right, Evans. Remember in our first year? All those cartwheels and water bombing? I was trying to impress you! And then, in the second year, I sent you flowers every Friday."

"I thought they were from Ken!

"No way... Ken's dumber than my last two girlfriends put together!"

"Exactly... if you had such a crush on me, than why did you date other girls?"

"In the third year, I figured out that you didn't like me... so I started dating other girls to make you jealous."

I felt dumbstruck. James Potter... still the most popular guy in school... who'd always liked me.

"Lily, I'm not going to give up on you. I believe in love at first sight, you know, and that first time I saw you on the Hogwarts train you were the most beautiful thing I'd seen on the planet."

As the first fat raindrops started falling outside, I realised something. James was unnaturally hot, and that caused me to feel self-conscious in front of him. But he was also a wonderful human being, and it felt like... I was falling in love, or something.

I did not like that thought.

"I hate you, Potter," I said softly, and was shocked at how cold my voice sounded. "I hate you so much."

That time, I wasn't scared of him. I faced James, and our eyes locked. He looked wounded, but that didn't fool me.

"So... what am I supposed to do about it?" James's normally confident voice was kind of quavery.

"GET OUT, THAT'S WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!" My patience had snapped in half. "I DON'T CARE HOW WET OR COLD IT IS, I DON'T CARE WHERE YOU GO, JUST LEAVE ALREADY!"

James looked torn as he glanced out the window and saw the rain, now falling so thick and fast it looked like sleet. "Lily-"

"LEAVE ME AND MY FAMILY ALONE!" I picked up the nearest thing I could find, a plate which rested on the counter, and chucked it at his feet. It shattered on the hard floor, and some of the china must have cut him because he yelped in pain.

"Alright... Lily... I'm going..." and he literally ran to the kitchen door, the cuts on his legs sporting little streams of blood.

"AND DON'T COME BACK!" I screamed, watching him struggle with the kitchen door to get it open.

Suddenly, a cold voice came from the corner of the room. It pierced my heart just to hear it.

"Oh no... we couldn't have that."

I turned quickly, just in time to see the small light figure of Fluffalina transform- into something much bigger, something much stronger, and something much more deadly than a little poodle.

"Fluff-" James managed to choke out, but his voice died as the Animagus stepped out of the shadows of the kitchen, and faced both of us with a cold, cold smile on her face.

"You can't possibly leave, James. You see-"

Her smile grew even wider, and it sent shivers up my spine as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a wand.

"- the Dark Lord needs you both."

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I'm sorry if that was too short, or if it was too mean a cliffhanger, but I've got some ultra-awesome stuff planned for the next few chapters. Including what Fluffalina's true identity is, and what's going to happen to Lily and James, etc.

Thanks heaps to all my reviewers!

Nina- You spelt sentence wrong. Thanks for reviewing, anyways.

Prettyprincess- I hope to review heaps more now that my school's finishing off third term, so keep your eyes peeled! Aww you're so sweet, you know that?

Lilykins- This is all so confusing, all this non-magic and magic stuff. Maybe Lily's grandmother was muggle-born too? And I didn't make any of Lily's parents wizards... oh well. Never mind... can you just pretend it all makes sense?

True4u- Awww that's the sweetest thing I've ever read! Thanks heaps, and I hope I keep it up... lol.

Veggy-mite- Um... I'll try.

Becky6- Thanks! ï

Sunni07- I'm not sure about the getting-sick-through-the-computer thing, but thanks for reviewing!

Egg-n-head- For your information Fluffalina plays a very special part in this! And Nina just laughed at me...

Marauders-Wzrd10- Yea, I liked the jabbing thing too, lol. Although I do feel a little sorry for James!

KLLRS- Hopefully you got a good night's rest and will be able to write something a little longer this time! Lol!

Anonymous- Oh well, that's just the way guys are sometimes.

Tiffani- Good to know you love it, and also good to know you're still laughing.

Shortnsweet9013- I'm sure you'll understand what the title means when you finish the story. But they are poor little things, aren't they? Lol.

Sirius'-muggle13- I'm glad you liked it!

Rumi- I think that's what FanFiction is all about, making your own twists to the story and stuff. I'm sorry if you don't like the way I've done my story... but it can't suit everyone's tastes.

Winky-wink- Ahh I can be such a drama queen!

Wagtail- Good to know you like it!

Moonlizard- It took me awhile to figure out what XD meant, but thanks for your review!

Wow... So many reviews... I'm eternally grateful! Thanks heaps, everyone, and I'm sorry if I forgot anyone! But stick around for the next chapter, and keep smiling!


	8. James, Tensions

I tried to update A.S.A.P for you guys!

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JAMES

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"What the hell do you think you're doing here?" I cried.

The Death Eater turned to me and glared furiously. "Shut your mouth, Potter," she snapped. "You have no say in the Dark Lord's doings!"

She fingered her wand, and her eyes glittered maliciously at Lily. Lily looked fearful, and my heart strained at the expression on her face, even though it was her that had caused the new cuts on my legs.

"Leave her alone!" I yelled, breaking away from my stance at the door, but she whipped around and pointed her wand at me. "_Stupendo_!"

"That's right," she laughed softly, as thin cords broke out from the tip of her wand, and slowly wrapped themselves around my immobilised body. "Yes, Potter's trying to play the hero. Just like..."

"Just like what?" I hissed scathingly, but she simply put on a blank expression and said, "Well, we'll leave the explaining to the Dark Lord, shall we?"

"_Stupendo_" she said, almost lazily, to Lily. The poor girl froze in her place, and the same cords that bound me were wrapped around her as well.

"Now, if you don't mind touching this lovely wooden bowl of mine," the Death Eater said to me, holding out the very same bowl her other form had been sitting in that morning, "we can get rolling."

"There is no way I'm touching that bowl," I replied, feeling around for my wand in my pocket and realising that I'd left it safely in the front pocket of my bag.

"Oh, yes you are." With a simple uttered magic word and a swish of her wand, I felt myself going limp, and as I slumped to the floor, her large black shadow leaned over me- swallowing me whole.

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"James... James... wake up..."

"What the-"Lily's green eyes were staring at me, and there was a note of urgency in her voice as she shook me. "Lily... where are we?"

"I don't know," Lily said, and she looked close to tears.

It was very shadowy in the small room that we were in, and the only light came from a tiny candle on the wall that was dripping wax onto the cold stone floor. The walls had some unknown substance growing on them, and a door made of heavy wood was set into the wall opposite us.

The wooden bowl that had been our Portkey was lying a few feet away, and there was a pile of rags in the opposite corner, but nothing that would lead us to knowing where we were.

"James," Lily said, her voice shaking, "I'm... scared."

"Don't worry," I said. "It's gonna be okay." My voice trembled as I spoke, and a cold draft of air came out of nowhere, chilling me to the bone.

"We need to get out of here," Lily said, trying to stay calm. "The door... let's try the door!"

"No!" I said quickly. The door was possibly our fastest way out... but inside me, my conscience told me that there was something out there, something that would kill us if we opened the door.

"What about the portkey..." I felt very weak, but Lily managed to crawl over and grab the wooden bowl. She squeezed her eyes shut and clutched it, but nothing happened.

"Shit..." Lily said, sounding weaker than ever. "It's been turned off, James..."

"Come back," I said meekly, worried about her. "Lily, come back here..."

"Okay..." she replied, and tried to crawl back to me, but her arms collapsed and she lay on the stone floor, sobbing.

"Come... here..." I said, desperately trying to drag her away from the door. There seemed to be a cold draft coming from the door, and Lily was dressed thinly. The further we were, the better.

I tried to prop Lily against the wall, but she slumped forwards again. I laid her head in my lap, and whispered in her ear.

"Lils... you gotta stay awake! You gotta help me out here!"

"Don't... want to... face... the Dark Lord..."

I swallowed hard. I knew what we were there for, and something was going to happen to us, except I didn't know what.

"You don't need to worry... I'll protect you!"

"You-Know-Who... too powerful..."

"Lily, I promise I'll get you back to your house. Just stay awake!"

Lily raised her head and looked at me, her eyes unfocused. "James... did you know that lady?"

"Which lady?"

"The one... Fluffalina."

"Oh..." I wanted to stay silent, but something in Lily's eyes made me continue. "Yea... I do know who she is."

"Who?"

"Well... my mum used to know her. She's turned death eater..."

"No, what's her name?"

Lily seemed to be getting more strength, and she struggled to sit up. I pushed her back against the wall so she could lean on it.

"Her name's... Lirabelle Tonks."

"What?"

Lily looked puzzled and shocked at the same time. "You mean..."

"Yea," I said quietly, "I think she's Nymphadora Tonks's mum."

Lily stared at the opposite wall, a dazed look in her eyes. "That's why Tonks spends all her holidays at Hogwarts... never goes home..."

Then she glanced at me, and her gaze drifted towards my shins and ankles, where little cuts sporting streams of blood were everywhere.

"Jeez... Did I do that?"

"Yea, you kind of did," I admitted, but smiled. "It's okay, though, it doesn't hurt."

"Oh, you poor thing!" Lily seemed to be back to normal, and I checked to see that the draft from the door wasn't getting any stronger. If she became too sleepy, there would be little chance of us getting home... let alone us surviving.

I shook my head to get rid of that thought. After all, Lily was looking at me pretty seriously with her great big green eyes, and she was moving closer and closer to me...

"Arrgh!"

I jumped about a foot into the air as I noticed the thing I had taken for a pile of rags in the corner moving.

A young woman with frizzy hair and round, shattered glasses perched precociously on her nose sat up and stared at us in horror. She looked absolutely batty as she got to her feet shakily, and stumbled across the room to where Lily and I were sitting.

She pointed a trembly finger at us, which looked old and wrinkled even though she was clearly only in her early twenties. Lily and I looked on in horror and she said in a tiny whisper,

"Beware, my children... I am sorry..."

We stared as she slumped slowly to the floor, and her shoulders started shaking. She was crying, but what for? Was she crying for us?

Then came the coldest rush of wind yet, and Lily shivered against my shoulder. I held her tight as someone entered the room we were in.

It was Lirabelle Tonks, still clutching her wand. And she was holding onto the sleeve of the robe of the person behind her, leading them into the room. It was a long, shimmery sleeve, which hung off the skeletal frame of their arm. My eyes travelled upwards... I could not stop them... and I found myself looking into the eyes of Lord Voldemort.

My mother and father had told me about him, we had been warned about him at school. This man was crazy; he wanted to take over the world, yet he had not succeeded. He wanted to rid the world of all Mud-bloods; I knew that... yet I was a pureblood. I tore my eyes away from Lord Voldemort and looked at Lily. She was staring at Lord Voldemort as well, her eyes as wide as saucers, and I knew what she was thinking.

Filing into the room, after Lord Voldemort and Lirabelle Tonks, were several masked figures dressed in long cloaks. There were only a few of them, but still enough to be a threat to us... besides, Lily and I were outnumbered.

It was a lost case.

We could still try and fight... but Lily seemed to be catching the cold of the draft from the door, and her head was drooping onto my shoulder. And I didn't have my wand, which was the only possible weapon that would ever threaten a dark wizard like Voldemort.

The heavy door slammed with a thud, and the group of wizards stood and faced us.

"What... what do you want from us?" I demanded, my voice squeaking slightly.

Voldemort just let out a soft, quiet laugh. His eyes glittered menacingly and he gently yanked his robe out of Lirabelle's grip. "I want nothing from you, child," he said quietly, smiling at me so that I felt like hurling.

"Liar," Lily whispered, and I could tell by her voice that she was becoming weaker yet again.

Voldemort just stepped forward, and looked at the body of the crazy woman lying on the ground. He gave her a swift kick, and when she didn't respond, pointed his wand at her. She magically floated up and rested against the wall, where she slumped dazedly.

"Now..." Voldemort said, giving a fake smile to the woman. He nodded at Lily and me.

"You heard the boy. Now, Trelawney... tell them what they need to hear."

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Oooh juicy eh? I'm getting kind of creeped out... I mean, seriously... what will happen to Lily and James while they're in the hands of Voldemort?

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, I want to get this up on Fanfiction as soon as I can so I won't thank everyone separately... I just want you all to know how much I appreciate you guys reading my story! Mwaz to you all!


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